Coming out of Arkansas Tech's season-opening 35-32 victory at Northeastern (Okla.) State, there were several problem areas Tech head coach Steve Mullins thought needed fixing as the Wonder Boys prepared for their Sept. 10 Gulf South Conference opener against Henderson State.

"We challenged (the players)," Mullins said. "We, as a coaching staff, challenged each other, too. And we've made some progress."

The Wonder Boys, who last played Aug. 25, went back to work Monday and began preparing for the Reddies after coaches received film Tuesday of HSU's 37-7 victory over Arkansas-Monticello.

They had a fairly short workout Friday, Mullins said, as well as an "opportunity bowl," which involves some live scrimmaging and allows younger players an opportunity to make the travel squad, hence the name.

The Wonder Boys were off Saturday and are scheduled to return to campus Monday.

Mullins said his squad spent the early part of the week working on a kicking game that has been something of an Achilles heel since preseason.

That is frustrating to the Tech coach because the kicking was supposed to be a strength entering the season. The Wonder Boys return senior kicker Mark Ewersmann, who made 7 of 8 field goals and 50 of 52 extra point attempts to earn second-team All-Conference honors last season.

But Ewersmann has struggled with pulling his kicks to the left, a problem that first reared its head during Tech's Green-White game Aug. 18.

The kicker missed an extra point and a 45-yard field goal attempt against Northeastern, both to the left.

After practice Friday, Mullins seemed less than satisfied with the progress on that front.

"We're still not where we need to be in our kicking game," he said.

Defensively, Mullins said the Wonder Boys were plagued with alignment errors against the Redmen. Tech gave up 484 yards against Northeastern, including 209 on the ground.

Northeastern also benefited from a pair of long touchdown passes in the fourth quarter that forced the Wonder Boys to rally in the closing minutes to avoid the upset.

Correcting the defensive mistakes is key, Mullins said, because the Reddies employ an almost ridiculous amount of offensive sets, judging from the film of HSU's victory over UAM.

The Reddies showed five receivers, three tight ends and everything in between, he said. They lined up spread out with no backs on one play, and on the next "You could hit them all with a hand grenade."

They also stacked as many as four receivers on one side, he added.

The strategy was deadly effective against UAM, as the Reddies piled up 561 total yards. HSU quarterback Dane King was 22 of 37 for 296 yards in just three quarters of work.

What does it all mean? It means the Wonder Boy defense has a lot to prepare for as gameday approaches.

"(The Reddies) are going to run every formation known to man, and they've got a pretty good quarterback making decisions for them," Mullins said. "They're going to go up to the line of scrimmage, see where you're at, and start calling their plays from there."

As for the Wonder Boy offense, Mullins said the unit has worked on picking up the tempo after looking somewhat flat and inconsistent in the season opener.

Tech finished with 364 yards against Northeastern but struggled to run the ball (65 yards on 33 carries) and at times seemed unable gain any ground at all.

Other times, the Wonder Boys seemed able to score at will. Tech marched 79 yards in just 56 seconds for the winning score.

Mullins said the offense - and the team as a whole - has picked up the tempo in practice this week. The coach was pleased with the attitudes his players have shown this week, particularly considering the amount of conditioning work they've done.

"I told them after the Northeastern game, 'We've got to get in better condition,'" he said. "I thought Northeastern was (in better condition) than us, and ... this is not punishment, this is for us to get better."

Tech seems to be in good condition on the injury front, at least. Mullins said freshman cornerback Quran Robinson is still a little hobbled after twisting his ankle against Northeastern.

Junior defensive end Rico Brown, who sat out the season opener with a knee injury, had the knee scoped and has been cleared for contact.

Saturday's game with Henderson State is not only Tech's conference opener but the home opener as well. Mullins said it's always special to play at Buerkle Field.

"Our school and the community of Russellville, in the past, has done a great job of supporting us," he said. "We usually fill up the home side, and we'll have folks down on the track."